Existentialism
by thepiraticalconductor
Summary: Edward and Elizabeth Masen run from an abusive father to the safe haven of Forks. There he meets a mysterious pair of twins and an odd family called the Cullens. When he is drawn to beautiful Isabel Cullen, he discovers another world unlike any other. AU.
1. Arrival

**Hello, gentle readers, old and new, young and old. Welcome to my new adventure in the Twilight universe. I hope you enjoy it and please review. I think this is going to be much better than my previous story and would very much appreciate some feedback. The entire story is from Edward's perspective.  
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**_"Existentialism is a philosophy concerned with finding self and the meaning of life through free will, choice, and personal responsibility."_

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"One thing about Santa Clara I never could stomach...all the damn vampires."

-"The Lost Boys"

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I would not miss Scottsdale. I would not miss the blistering heat. I would not miss my school; I had no friends there to miss anyway. And, most of all, I would not miss the monster that dared to call itself my father.

My mother's old Ford hit another bump and my guitar smacked me in the head.

"You okay?" my mom called from the front seat. I glared at her though the dingy back window. This was not the first time a bump in the road has sent something flying at me. It was just one of the dangers of traveling cross country in the back of a pickup truck.

"Fine." I grumbled.

I had covered all of our stuff with a tarp, half so it wouldn't get wet, half so I could hide when we passed a cop. The last thing we needed was to be sent home.

"Where are we going?" I asked for the fifty-eighth time. My mother sighed.

"I told you, you'll see." She said.

"That's not an answer." I said. She sighed.

"Edward, you know why I can't tell you."

She didn't want me to be disappointed...or she didn't want me to spill to the police and get sent back to Arizona. What a nightmare that would be.

"Yes, I know." I muttered. I gathered my old, blue, paisley quilt around my shoulders and laid down on the bed of the truck.

The sun had not shone for a whole day, an unheard of event in the Valley of the Sun. The clouds were a soft gray, a puffy gray. I didn't think there would be any rain today; always good news in my book.

I dug through a box by my left foot and found my battered Walkman. My iPod had died three days ago. I had forgotten my charger. Life was cruel that way. I fitted the earphones on and pushed play. I sighed when the wonderful piano melodies and lyrics seeped into my ears.

Music had such a way about it that I couldn't be said, even when I was running for my life. I hummed along with the lead singer and moved my fingers in the motions of the guitar chords. I had never been much of a singer, other than in the shower, but I loved my guitar more than the rest of the waking world. I loved it even more than my books, although they were a close second. Mother was moving down the list due to the moving she was forcing upon me.

I felt the old pickup begin to slow down and the cargo shifted as my mom turned onto a freeway exit. I caught a glimpse of the sign.

"Forks?" I asked. "You cannot be serious. Next thing, there'll be a town named Spoons. Not as unfortunate as Knives, but still." I laughed. The sound was foreign to my ears. Mother did not share in my amusement.

"This is your home now, Edward. Show some respect." She barked. I shut up; she was under enough stress as it was without my attitude.

With some difficulty, I managed to sit up and look around. I frowned. It looked the same as the highway, save for the tiny shops and restaurants. There was a sporting goods store and a corner store. There was a beat up looking diner that claimed to make the best waffles on the West Coast. My stomach grumbled at the thought.

"We'll get some food tomorrow, along with your clothes." Mother said. We had left all my clothes behind. Actually, it wasn't so much that we had left them behind, but that my mother had forgotten them. I had yet to forgive her.

"Sure, Mom." I grumbled again. I grabbed a plastic cup with the words "Hawaii is for Lovers" on it and began to siphon off the water on the tarp. It was dripping onto my books. I brushed a few drops off of Stephen King's nose and threw the rest of the water over the side of the truck.

I glanced up and saw a pair of girls staring at me. One had mousy-brown hair and wrinkled her nose at me. The other had darker hair and skin. Her eyes were sad and she offered a small wave. I nodded back.

We passed through the town at a snail's pace. A pair of police officers were sitting outside a gas station eating doughnuts. _And they wonder why people laugh at them._ I laughed to myself. Other groups of teenagers were scattered about the place, hanging around each other cars or messing around in the parking lots of diners and shops. All of it was exceptionably ordinary and yet alien at the same time. Everything was so small and green, not at all like the peaceful, elite suburbs I was used to living in.

"It's going to take some getting used to." Mother said. "But I think we can manage." I heard the smile in her voice and bit back my witty retort.

"If you say so, Mom." I sighed. I chewed on my tongue and didn't look away from my feet the rest of the way down the main drag of the town. Mom was happy here. I had almost forgotten how she got that little lift in her voice when she was happy, it had been so many years since I had heard it. She hadn't smiled since _he_ started...God, I couldn't even think it anymore.

I gave a little squeak as Mother skidded around a corner and down a street of houses. I was sent flying into the box of family pictures. The cardboard had softened from the damp air, but several metal corners stabbed me in the side. I sneered when I saw the face of the monster peeking out from behind the top flap.

"Sorry." she said from the front seat. "Didn't know where I was going and I didn't have time to slow down." She said. "Though I must say, that noise you made seemed more suited to a guinea pig than a teenager." She laughed out loud. I gave an indignant huff and righted myself. She laughed again and busied herself with finding the house. I sighed.

"At least all the houses don't look the same." I shrugged. I was grateful I would at least have a little help in finding the house the first few days.

"Oh, here we are." Mother squealed, pulling into the driveway of a perfectly ordinary house. I felt my eyebrows bunch together at the sight of another car in the driveway.

"Mom, are you sure this is the right house?" I asked. It wouldn't surprise me if she had gotten the house number wrong.

"Yes, I'm sure." She said. The car sputtered to a stop and gravel crunched under my mother's feet as she hopped out. "So...what do you think?" She asked, looking from me to the car and back.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"The car. It's your compensation." She smiled.

"No." I said blankly. "No way." I felt a smile break out on my face and I all but threw myself at my mother. "You didn't steal it did you?" I asked.

"No." She laughed, hugging me. "I bought it off some nice family down on the La Push reservation. Said they liked to fix up cars and sold it to me for a fair price. It _is_ ten years old after all." She smiled.

"I don't care." I spat out. I had _never_ had a car of my very own before. I walked over to it in a bit of a trance. It was still shiny from the wax. It was small, a four door, but very sleek looking. And it was _cherry red. And it was a __**Mustang.**_ "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, _thank you!_" I exclaimed, giving the hood of the car a hug as best I could manage.

Mother laughed and patted my shoulder. "Well, I think it's only fair. You have to go to school and I have to go to work and I would hate to have to make you suffer the humiliation of being seen with me." She said dramatically. I whacked her shoulder and gave her a smile.

"Thank you, mom." I said again, giving her one more hug. "Thank you so much." For some reason, I felt the beginnings of tears in my eyes. I ignored them and bent over the side of the truck to find the hedge clippers. "Do you want me to start unloading all of this?" I asked.

"Well, if you think you can manage it..." She trailed off. I scowled. Mother had always been stronger than me and she had never let me forget it. Just because I challenged her to an arm wrestling match two years ago and had failed spectacularly did_ not_ mean that she could go and question my masculinity at every opportunity.

"Yes, I can manage it." I hissed and stuck my nose up in the air. She giggled, shook her head and went to go open the front door. I snipped off the bindings for the tarp and pulled it off the boxes, causing a great splash of dirty water onto my shoes. I groaned and took the box of pictures out first. Mom would want to arrange them as soon as possible.

I stumbled into the house though the narrow front door and set the box down on the steps. I had to admit, the house had been a great deal, what with it being full of furniture. The bank had even let Mother keep the mortgage loan from the previous owners, no extra payments involved. Mom scurried over and began to take all the photos out of their carefully bubble wrapped cocoons. I smiled and let her be.

The next couple of hours went by slowly, a flurry of boxes and bubble wrap and memories, some we didn't want to remember. My mother tried to hide all the photos of my father, or tried to cut him out so that he wasn't there. I wanted to say something, but there wasn't anything to say, really.

My mother's bedroom was on the second floor, while mine was in the basement. Not a bad deal. I wouldn't have to hear her crying herself to sleep every night that way. My mother must have phoned ahead and asked if the previous owners had kept any bookcases too, because five of them were sitting at the foot of my bed. I pushed them all up against one wall and set the boxes full of books next to them. That project could wait until tomorrow.

I set my precious guitar on its stand next to the desk and managed to find an outlet for my laptop. I had saved all summer to get it and I was going to use it if it killed me. My life was on that computer. I slid my glasses onto the end of my nose and typed in my password. I breathed out at last. No viruses, no spyware. By all accounts it had survived this trip unscathed. I sighed with content and heard a knock at my door.

"Everything okay in here, Edward?" Mother asked, poking her head in. "Already on the computer?" She sighed. "I'm sorry you don't have any windows, but there's a beautiful skylight." She said, pointing to the ceiling.

"Why, so there is," I said. I hadn't noticed it. It was the same gray outside as it always was. "That'll help with knowing what to wear...oh, wait; I don't _have_ anything to wear." I sighed. Mother laughed.

"I'll go run out and get you some stuff tomorrow. And don't be all dramatic, it's not as if you could have worn your Arizona clothes here anyway." She said. "Pizza sound good?" She asked.

"Pizza sounds wonderful." I smiled. Anything that wasn't out of a can sounded wonderful.

Mother and I ate and laughed and talked for an hour or so. It was so odd, being with my mother this way. She seemed so light and carefree, not at all like the timid woman that had lived with me in Arizona. I was glad she had left my father. I didn't care how taboo it seemed to some people, I was just glad she was assertive and able to think for herself. I loved her.

At long last, I yawned and dragged myself to bed. It was cold here, but mother had managed to fit my bed with sheets and my quilt while I was in the shower. I snuggled down into the covers, glad for the warmth.

I sighed, turned on my back and looked up at the sky. All the clouds felt like a cage closing in around me. But it had to be better than what mother and I had left behind. I ran a finger over the cigar butt scars on my right forearm.

"Yes." I whispered to myself, just before sleep took me. "Yes, this will be better."

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**Review? Pretty please with Edward on top? For those of you that may be confused, yes Edward is human. For any questions or remarks, please PM me or leave it in a review.**

**Until we meet again,**

**MonSangEstMonEncre  
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	2. First Day

**Thank you to the three wonderful people who reviewed and a belated thank you to my awesome beta Sovoyita, even if you change basically nothing. It helps me build up my confidence. For those who don't know, this story is going to have only two original characters: Charlotte Brewster and Andrew Ravenwood. They are carry overs from my first Twilight epic "Fellow Spirits". If you would go a read that one, I would really appreciate it. Also, for as many times as possible, I am going to put a "Lost Boys" quote before each chapter. Why, you may ask? Because it's awesome; the best vampire movie I've ever seen. And the Frog Brothers are hilarious. Enjoy.**

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**Edgar Frog**: We've been aware there's some very serious vampire activity in this town for some time.  
**Alan Frog**: Santa Carla's become a haven for the undead.  
**Edgar Frog**: As a matter of fact, we're almost certain ghouls and werewolves occupy high positions at city hall.

"The Lost Boys"

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I awoke to the sound of pattering rain. I flinched at the sound and buried my face into the pillow. It was still dark, save for the annoying red light coming from my alarm clock.

_4:45_

It flashed the unwelcome time and went back to being annoying. I groaned and flopped onto my back. I watched as the raindrops hit the skylight and wondered if there really were little worlds in a drop of water, like in the snow in that one Dr. Seuss story.

_It must be wonderful._ I thought._ To have your own little world all to yourself and not have to worry about everyone else. But it must be terrifying when it rains. To have everything you know shatter into a thousand pieces_. I shivered at the thought and turned onto my side.

School would be starting in a few hours. I knew how the drill would go. Mother would come in at 6:45 to wake me up, just like everyday. I would throw on some clothes, try to flatten my hair, grab a bagel and run out the door. I wasn't embarrassed that my car was used and kind of old. From what I had seen yesterday, every car was like that here. I wasn't worried about catching up with the school work. All my old classes had been with the Advanced Placement program. I wondered if they would still let me take my exams at the end of the year. Mom was pressed for money as it was and if I could knock off a year or two of college, it would hopefully relieve some of her stress.

There was one thing I was worried about, though: friends. I didn't have any back at home. I was too much a nerd to hang out with. I wasn't into sports; I wasn't a punk; I wasn't into theater; even the people who may have considered themselves my friends didn't want much of anything to do with me. And, despite all that I had tried to make people think, I had _hated_ it.

I chewed thoughtfully on my bottom lip.

Yes, that was all I wanted: a friend. Just one would do. Someone to be able to talk to and laugh with and cry with. I smiled at the thought and closed my eyes once more, dozing into a dreamless sleep.

Mother came in right on cue. My alarm had barely started to blare before she was on me, shaking my shoulders. I could smell the coffee –one cream, five sugars– on her breath.

"Mom, I'm up." I groaned, trying to shove her away. I managed to reach between her arms to turn off my alarm. "I'm no expert but isn't that why you bought be an alarm clock, so that you _wouldn't_ have to deal with me at this hour?" I grumbled. She gave an indignant huff and marched away.

It was still raining, misting this time, but still. I managed to haul myself out of bed and stared at the pile of clothes across from me. My heart dropped into my stomach. It was still early, but there had to be some stores open. Mom would have had to get up _really early_ to get them for me. That would explain the coffee.

I rifled through the clothes to find a pair of dark jeans, a white, cotton button-down and a black sweater. I was nothing if not simple. I wandered into the kitchen to find my mother buzzing around making breakfast. _Making_ breakfast. _Cooking._ This was not at all normal.

"Mom, are you okay?" I said, coming up behind her. She was humming to herself and didn't seem to realize I was there. "Mom!" I barked. She gave a little squeak and turned around.

"Oh, Edward! Don't scare me like that!" She scolded. I stared at the eggs cooking in the skillet. Eggs, bacon and American cheese. "Oh, I was just craving an omelette and I decided to make you one too. I hope I put the right things in, I didn't really know what you liked in them." She admitted, blushing a light shade of pink. I smiled and wrapped my arms around my mother.

"It's perfect Mom. Just perfect." I felt her start to shake and gave her a little squeeze. "Your omelette is burning." I reminded her, pointing to the smoking pan. She gasped and dumped it onto a plate with two slices of toast.

"Take your multivitamin." She ordered, sitting me down at the table in the kitchenette. I saluted her and started on my omelet.

It tasted like warm cardboard. I had forgotten why my mother doesn't cook. I swallowed and managed to smile. Mother seemed pleased and went back to making her eggs. I downed the rest of the omelet impersonator as fast as possible and chased it down with a mug of coffee. It was no latte, but it was fine.

"I already got all of your school stuff ready, so just go and brush your teeth. Don't forget to comb your hair." She fussed.

"I know, Mom." I sighed. I did as she requested. Thanks to the wonderful power of whitening strips, my teeth sparkled when I was done brushing them. They were the only things about my appearance I felt were worth admiring. My glasses slid on and my hair retaliated brilliantly. It felt like a normal day already.

"Bye Mom!" I called, grabbing my new house key and shoving it in my pocket. I was halfway through the door before she attacked me. Mother's arms wrapped around my shoulders in a fierce embrace and she sobbed into my neck. "Mom, it's just school. How different can it be?" I laughed, patting her on the back.

"I know," She sniffled, "But I know how you are with school and making friends and I don't want you to be sad today, that's all." She muttered.

"I won't, Mom. I promise." I said, smiling. She nodded into my shoulder and released me.

"You're keys are in the car. Follow the signs to school!" She called as I ran out the door. The school had mailed me my schedule during the time we had been traveling, and by my calculations, I was exactly three minutes late. I tossed my bag into the passenger seat of the Mustang and backed out of the driveway.

The school was, like everything else in Forks, just off the main drag. It left something to be desired: simple, gray buildings that students were strolling to and from. All of them had raincoats on. I grumbled and walked into an especially gray building marked "Administration". A dumpy woman with a bright purple shirt sat behind the counter.

"Oh, hello, dear!" She said cheerfully. "First day?" I nodded. She smiled and pulled out a little pile of papers for me to fill out. As I signed my name what felt like a million times, she explained where each of my classes were and the routes to take to each. I was already dreading walking around with a map under my nose for the whole day. As if I needed to seem even more like a nerd. I tried to smile at the woman and vacated the room as soon as I could.

I glanced down at my schedule. _First Period, English Lit with Mr. Walker, Building 3._ A red number three was attached to the building next to me and I smiled for a second. _Small favors._ I sighed inwardly. The warning bell for first period rang and people started to file into the buildings. I followed a crowed into Building 3. No one seemed to notice me until I bumped into a pair of girls that looked my age.

"Sorry." I mumbled and scooted into a room that bore Mr. Walker's nameplate. One of the girls, the one with the mousy-brown hair, followed me inside.

Mr. Walker was an elderly man with a rather pronounced hump in his back. He had almost no hair, except for a few fluffy white tufts around his ears. He didn't look up when I walked by his desk.

"Ah, Mr. Masen, isn't it?" He asked in a thick British accent. I froze.

"Yes," I stammered. He held out his hand and I gave him the form the Administration lady had given me to have the teachers sign.

"I've left your books on your desk. It's back there next to Ms. Brewster. I believe she is wearing black today, that is her usual Monday routine." He smiled knowingly and pointed me in the right direction. I scuttled off as fast as my feet would carry me.

'Ms. Brewster' was an average height, thin girl with long, thick, brown hair that fell down her back in curls. Her skin was ghostly pale and she was, indeed, wearing black from head to toe. Her nose was buried in a copy of _Salem's Lot_.

"That one's my favorite," I said, shoving my bag under my desk and leafing through the books on my desk. _Wuthering Heights, Sense and Sensibility, Great Expectations..._ I sighed. I had already read all of them. Well, at least I still had the essays from last term. No one would notice if I just 'recycled them'. "It's nice to see a side of vampires that isn't beautiful or sexy or kind. It helps you remember that they really are monsters." I said, remembering that I had said something to the girl next to me. I glanced up and found that she was staring at me.

"Me too," She said in a soft, airy voice. A small smile graced her full lips, and she put the book down. "I must admit I'm quite a vampire fanatic." She said bashfully. "And I've already read the books for this class and as long as I pass my tests and essays, Mr. Walker lets me read what I like during class. Maybe that's why he's put you next to me." She smiled again and this time it reached her eyes. They were a strange shade of...violet. "What are you staring at?" She asked.

"Nothing. It's just I've never seen eyes quite like yours before." I said under my breath. She nodded and looked down.

"I hear that a lot." She sighed. "My name's Charlotte. What's yours?"

"Edward." I said. She smiled again and nodded slowly.

"It's nice to meet you Edward."

We didn't get another chance to talk the rest of the class. Mr. Walker, having been told the nature of my education, let me go down to the library with Charlotte for the whole class. She sat in a chair, one leg crossed over the other. Every so often she would adjust the nylon of her tights, but she made no move to talk to me. I didn't mind it so much; I was used to being left alone.

We had to do a research paper for class and since I had yet to pick a book, I busied myself with the task. I had promised myself that I would read something I had never read before. I selected _The Picture of Dorian Gray_, by an Oscar Wilde. I had never heard of the man or the book, so I decided it was a good enough fit.

The bell rang for second period and Charlotte took off like a bat out of hell. I glanced down at my schedule again. _Chemistry Laboratory, Mr. Glaven, Building 5_. I groaned. I had hoped that all my classes would be in the same building, but no such luck. I sighed and hauled my stuff out into the damp to look for the building. I saw a shining red five a few buildings over and managed to find my way there without knocking into anyone.

Mr. Glaven was younger than Mr. Walker and had short brown hair. He was tall, thin and very energetic. He signed my slip and pointed me in the direction of an empty table. I sighed with relief and slithered into my seat. My happiness was short lived.

"Hey." A boy said. Well, not so much a boy but a mountain. "Name's Emmett. You must be the new kid." He grinned. "Jessica Stanley couldn't shut up about you in the hallway. Not that that's really saying anything; she never shuts up." He rolled his eyes.

"Okay, today we're going to take it easy and ease you all into the school week. Just some easy labs today, but don't forget your chapter test on Friday!" Mr. Glaven said before everyone chattered happily and drowned him out.

Emmett sighed and reached to get us worksheets.

It was a simple enough lab. Just seeing what substances burned what colors. I had already done it, but it was just busy work. Nothing that would kill me.

"So when did you get here?" Emmett asked, pulling out a match for the Bunsen burner.

"Yesterday." I said. "My mom is very...intense about my education. Ever since the move we've been kind of low on cash and she wants me to be smart enough to go wherever I want without having to worry." A low whoosh sounded next to my right ear.

"There, that's better." Emmett said, admiring the bright blue flame leaping from the tip of the burner. I raised an eyebrow. I had always had trouble with those things, ever since fifth grade. I couldn't light one to save my life. It seemed I didn't have to worry about that anymore.

The period passed slowly. Emmett and I finished out worksheets before everyone else and spent the rest of the time seeing who could hold a burning stick the longest. Emmett seemed to have no fear of fire and often held his stick until it was licking at his fingertips.

We talked a little bit when we ran out of sticks to burn. He didn't ask why I'd moved here, to my surprise. But he was very friendly and easy to talk to. He smiled when the bell rang and glided off just like Charlotte had.

I looked to see what class I had next and my heart dropped into my stomach. _Physical Education, Coach Valner, Building 1_. I resisted the urge to slam my head down on my desk and curse the world.

I _hated_ gym. It was the only thing I had never been good at. And here I had thought I was going to escape anyone laughing at me.

I dragged myself to Building One and went to get Coach Valner to sign my slip. He did so very loudly and told me that I could sit out today, as he wasn't aware he had to get another set of clothes. The period went by fast and soon I was off to _American Government, Mr. Goodman, Building 4_.

Mr. Goodman was very soft-spoken and signed my slip with a little smile and a point in the right direction. There was only one empty seat, and that was next to the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in my life. She was tall, blonde and slim, had soft features and smiled at me as I sat down. I felt every male in the room stare at me and I felt the blood rush to my cheeks. The girl laughed.

"Don't mind them. They're just jealous of you. I can't imagine why." She sighed, gently pushing her hair over her shoulder. "Is this your first day?" She asked.

"Yes. It's all rather small, isn't it?" I said. She laughed.

"Indeed it is. I'm from New York, so I know how you feel." She gave a little, sad sigh. "My name is Rose by the way. You're Edward."

"Is it all over school now?" I grumbled.

"Yes. And Emmett told me. He's my boyfriend." This didn't surprise me. "He likes you, you know. And I trust him." My eyes picked up the little happy lines around her eyes when she spoke of him. I smiled.

"Yes, I imagine so."

Despite the stereotype of the stuck up blonde that I was used to, Rose was very kind. She helped me with deciphering the language in the book and even loaned me her notes to copy and give back the next day.

I had one more period before lunch and that was Band with Mr. Miller in Building 2. Since I didn't have my guitar on me, I was excused from playing and left to study my part in the music.

And, at last, lunch came. It was held in its own building, a great room all lined with circles tables. I grabbed a huge Caesar salad, paid and went to try to find a table. I chewed on my bottom lip when I saw that all of them were full. There was one empty one a little bit away from the others, by a window. I sighed and tromped my way over, set my stuff down and pulled out Rose's notes. Might as well do something productive before the day was over.

My eyes wandered around the room as I ate and I caught Emmett waving at me. He was sitting with Rose, her head on his shoulder, Charlotte, who was daintily picking at her food, and two others I did not recognize. One was male, tall and very intimidating. His eyes flashed to me and I felt the urge to slink away. He slapped Emmett's hand down and whispered in his ear. Emmett pouted, but did not protest.

The other was female, about half a foot shorter than I, and very beautiful. She had long, silky brown hair that had streaks of red in it. Her face was in the shape of a heart. She, too, glanced where Emmett had been looking. I gasped when her eyes met mine. They were the perfect shade of goldenrod, and incredibly deep, so much so that I wanted to fall in them. Her lips dropped down in a frown and she looked away and down at her tray. I felt a hot blush rise in my cheeks and busied myself with copying Rose's notes until the bell rang.

I couldn't get the image of the girl's face out of my mind as I walked to _Applied Calculus, Ms. Fioritto, Building 3._She had been so beautiful and mysterious, like one of those Russian dolls that holds another doll inside a bigger one. I found myself wanting to memorize the way she had looked at me with those perfect eyes, the way the light made the red come out in her hair. I snagged my foot against a door frame and nearly fell into a girl in a purple hoodie. I caught myself right before we touched and righted myself.

"Are you making a habit of falling into people?" The girl giggled, turning around. I recognized her from the car trip down main street. She had waved at me. I smiled and nodded.

"I guess it must be the change of scene. I'm so confused and my body must be catching up with me." I laughed. She smiled knowingly and nodded.

"You coming in?" She asked, pointing to the door. The nameplate said Ms. Fioritto, so I nodded. "I'm Angela by the way. Angela Webber. You're Edward..."

"Masen." I filled in for her. She nodded again. The pink glasses perched on the end of her nose slid and she pushed them up again.

"Good afternoon." A woman said from my right. "Ms. Webber, please go to your seat." She barked. Angela nodded, causing her glasses to slip, and scuttled off. Ms. Fioritto held out her hand for the slip of paper, signed it with a flourish and pointed to an empty seat.

I gulped.

The girl from lunch was there, looking out the window and twirling a lock of hair around her finger. I went to sit down and saw her back stiffen. I shoved my bag under my desk and saw her move out of the corner of my eye.

Those perfect golden eyes I had so admired last period were glaring at me. Her lips were pulled up in a snarl and her nails were digging into the counter top. I felt the urge to run course through my veins and in that moment, all I wanted was to be far, far away from the girl next to me. She didn't even _look_ like a girl. She seemed so much more like a dark angel, or a demon.

I scooted my chair over as far as it could go and tried not to look at her. I didn't want to admit it, but the fact that she could hate me so quickly _hurt._ I wanted to know why anyone would do that to a person, especially if that didn't even know them. My teeth ground together and a plan began to form. Tomorrow, when I knew where I was going, I would confront her and ask what her problem was...or maybe I could just as Emmett to do it.

The period passed way too slowly for my liking, with the girl's eyes boring a hole into the top of the table. Her nails had left long, thin marks on the counter and I gulped at the thought of those nails on my throat.

The one second before the bell rang to signal the end of the day, she was out of her chair like a bullet. Her walk was graceful enough to make a ballerina jealous and I couldn't help but admire her through my fear. I blindly shoved my books into my overstuffed backpack and threw it over my shoulder. My mind wandered as I went to give the dumpy woman with the purple shirt my slip and I went back to my car. It was one of the last in the lot. Angela passed me in a four door Honda Civic, honked and waved. I waved back.

How exactly I got home was a mystery to me. I didn't remember driving, and yet here I was. This town was rubbing off on me too much if I could already drive on autopilot.

Mom was waiting for me with a plate of cookies, store bought this time.

"How was school?" She asked.

"Fine. School-like," I said. She frowned.

"Are there any cute girls?" She asked. I rolled my eyes at her. "Are they being nice to you?" She said softly. I huffed.

"Well...they're all very welcoming." I sighed. How could I let one girl totally ruin what had actually been an okay day? I had made four whole friends and all my classes had been a breeze. I wouldn't let one stupid little girl ruin my life for me.

"Oh, honey, tell me all about it," she cooed, trying to get me to sit down.

"Mom, it doesn't matter. I have a lot of homework. I'll talk to you in a bit." I sighed, going down to my room before she could complain.

The four concrete walls of my room were strangely welcoming and I plopped down on my bed without a thought. I unplugged my laptop from its charger and set it on my lap. This had always been my way: forget my problems by losing myself in my work. I pulled the online password for the Chem notes from my bag and tried to forget the girl with the golden eyes.

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**Please Review. It would make my day and inspire me to write faster. -wink wink-**

**Until we meet again,**

**MonSangEstMonEncre**


	3. Many Meetings

****

Thanks so much to the people who have reviewed, it really made my day. So, this chapter marks the entrance of the "mysterious twins" of the summery. Also, the vampires in here aren't hard like rocks. It's the only thing I hate about the vamps of "Twilight". Who wants to make out with a freakin' rock?? Seriously. So, I took some creative license with that, but everything else is basically intact. I haven't gotten to the sparkling thing, yet, though. Enjoy.

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_Edger Frog: It's the blood sucking Brady Bunch!_

_"The Lost Boys"_

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Day two of my life in Forks dawned just the same as the first: cold, cloudy and wet. It wasn't a surprise. Mother did not come in to shake me awake today. Maybe my little outburst had actually gotten to her.

The second I sat up in bed I plopped back down. It felt like someone had taken a couple of swings at my head with a garden bucket. I had only ever experienced this first hand once, but it wasn't someone easily forgotten.

I figured it had to be the change in air pressure that was getting to me. Arizona was so much farther up off the ground than the coast of Washington and it was finally catching up to me. Life sucked that way. Cradling my throbbing head, I managed to totter my way into the kitchen.

"Mom, please tell me you bought Tylenol at the store yesterday." I groaned, fumbling around for a couple slices of toast. There wasn't a chance in hell I was going to repeat my mistake of yesterday and eat my mother's cooking.

"Headache?" she grumbled. Her hand was holding a heating pad over her forehead. "Me too." She pointed to a little bottle next to the coffee pot. "Take just two and shove a few in your pockets in case it comes back. I don't care if they set the drug dogs on you at school, no human should have to endure this," she moaned.

I nodded and downed two little red pills along with my coffee. The toast popped and I buttered it before sitting down.

"Anything planned today?" Mother asked, frowning at my choice of sustenance. She thought I ate too many carbs. I thought she ate too much bird food. It was the only thing we were ever really at odds on.

"No, Mom. Nothing to speak of. Just school and then home. Wow, life here isn't all that different from Arizona, is it?" I drawled. Mom barked a laugh and patted my shoulder.

"You said yesterday hadn't been that bad, sweetie. Today will be better. You'll see," she said, smiling away like a maniac.

_If only I could believe you._ I sighed inwardly.

An hour later I was plopping down in my seat in English Literature, just the same as the first day. Charlotte's light gold hair was pulled back in a knot in the nape of her neck and she wore a plum colored tunic over simple jeans and black high tops. She was nearly done with _Salem's Lot_. She didn't look at me.

"Charlotte," I prompted. She said nothing. "Charlotte," I said again. I looked up when Mr. Walker dismissed Charlotte and I to the library. She said nothing to be on the way there, just looked right on ahead as if I wasn't even there. When we arrived, she sat down in her chair, crossed her legs and kept right on reading. I sat down next to her and stared.

I had learned that this had a profound effect on people when they were trying to ignore me.

"Charlotte," I prompted again. The leaves of the book jacket of her book started to shake. Her eyes had stopped moving across the page. "Charlotte, what's wrong?" I asked.

"Go away, Edward," she said, her voice shaking.

"Why?" I asked. Charlotte huffed and slammed her book down on the table.

"Because Jazz and Izzy told me not to talk to you," she hissed. The dark violet hue of her eyes darkened a touch in her anger. "Please, Edward, my brother and sister are the center of our family. I don't want them to be angry at me," she whispered with a hint of anguish, looking down at her hands.

"Why wouldn't they want you to talk to me? What's wrong with me?" I said, indignant. Charlotte chewed on her lips and twisted her fingers together.

"Jasper and Isabel are very...intense; I think that's the best word for it. They just don't trust anyone; they haven't since the last town we were in. The people there hated us because we were different and we all lived under one roof with parents that weren't even related to us," she said in a rush. "They didn't understand and turned us out.

"Jasper wants us to keep to ourselves. That's why he yelled at Emmett for being friends with you so quickly. And he's very protective of me because I was adopted all by myself. He doesn't like that I'm already your friend. He and Emmett got into a huge fight about it." She gulped loudly. I could only imagine what Emmett would look like in a fight. He was about four inches taller than this Jasper person and loads stronger.

"So are Rose and Emmett going to be the same today?" I asked, my somewhat good mood faltering. So the only friends I had at this school were being torn away from me already? Just my luck.

"Rose will do whatever Emmett does and I don't think Emmett cares what Jasper says. Rose is too nice to ignore you anyway." She smiled for a moment. "But Isabel is going to do her best to act like you don't exist. It's nothing _personal_, she just wants what she thinks is best for our family." Charlotte sighed. "They're going to kill me for even telling you that much."

"I won't tell a soul," I promised, reaching across the table to give her hand a squeeze. She flinched.

"Sorry. Force of habit," she muttered.

The rest of the period passed without another word.

Charlotte smiled when the bell rang and waited to walk out with me. She didn't seem quite so adamant about ignoring me as she had been before and I was grateful. Even if she only felt sorry for me, I was glad she liked hanging out with me.

Emmett grabbed me by the collar the second I set my bag down in Chem Lab.

"I'm so sorry about my brother yesterday. He's being such an ass and I can't get him out of it," he said. I nodded.

"Charlotte filled me in." I shrugged. Emmett's mouth made a little 'o' and he nodded.

"I didn't think she'd give up on a friend. She's very passionate, our Charlotte. I think that's why we respect her so much, because she never backs down from her convictions." He smiled softly. "But Jasper babies her so much. He never lets her date or even talk to boys he doesn't know. I swear, sometimes I think he believes he's her father or worse, boyfriend." He chuckled.

Mr. Glaven called the class to order and Emmett and I fell silent. It was a lecture day and I spent the period jotting down the few things about Chemistry that he didn't know. I had remembered my guitar for band and had to lug it around all day. I loved the instrument dearly, but I often wondered why I didn't pick something a little more compact to take up.

Emmett and I parted ways and I headed towards the Gym. I frowned when I remembered that I had to dress down. Lovely.

I wandered into the locker room and tried not to look awkward. It worked and I got in and out without anyone making fun of me. Always a plus, in my book.

"Hey, Edward!" I heard someone call. I whipped around and smiled when I saw Angela walking towards me. "Hey, since you're new and you kinda don't look like a sports person..." Her eyes traced my lack of muscle and I felt a blush rise in my cheeks. "You can be on my team. Jessica and Mike are on it for volleyball and they're good enough that you won't have to do anything that may cause you to fall into someone." She laughed, a light, teasing sound. I rolled my eyes.

"Thanks Angela," I said. She giggled and gently punched my arm.

"Oh, you know I'm only messing with you, Edward." She sighed.

With the assistance of both Jessica and Mike, the period passed with little pain. The ball never even came near me and if it did, Angela would shove me out of the way. I would have a few bruises the next day, but mostly I came out unscathed.

Jessica and Mike were actually kind of cool. Maybe everyone was so nice because the town was so small. There were only so many people to choose from.

We all bid each other goodbye and I headed off to American Government. Rose was there, her blonde hair whipped up into a twist. She smiled when I sat down and I gave her her notes back.

"Emmett said Charlotte told you about what happened with Jasper," she sighed. I nodded. "It's not that his heart isn't in the right place, he's just...I don't know." I glanced over at Rose out of the corner of my eye. Her teeth were pulling her bottom lips into her mouth.

"You don't like to take sides, do you?" I muttered.

"No, I don't. But Emmett said to ignore him and he'll protect me if Jasper gets his knickers in a twist'." She playfully made air quotes with her index and middle fingers. She rolled her eyes. "He's so much more of a child then the rest of us, it's ridiculous," she sighed tiredly.

"But you love him," I said. Her eyes flashed to mine, surprised. "It's not that hard to see, Rose, especially when you talk about him." I shrugged. Her lips twitched into a smile and she nodded.

"I suppose."

We just had essays to do in class and I did not have a chance to talk to Rose about Jasper and Isabel again. I was a bit nervous about seeing her last period, but it would be the perfect opportunity to confront her, in a way. I would probably end up not doing anything at all, but I could dream.

I headed off to band. So far, the day had been far less than exciting: English had been tediously boring, Chem had melted my brain, Gym hadn't caused any injuries, and Government hadn't held anything that I didn't already know. Sure, I had found out that a guy I didn't even know hated me, but that was just parred usual for me.

The Forks High School Band didn't have an acoustic guitar player, so Mr. Miller was very excited that I had joined. I took my place on the edge of the violin players and waited for class to start. There was an empty seat next to mine that no one seemed to fill. A girl with a clarinet too big for her arms turned to look at me.

"You have a brother or something? We have one extra seat." She pointed to the seat next to mine. I shook my head. She shrugged and passed it on to the rest of the woodwinds. The bell rang and still no one filled the seat.

And then...a whisper.

"Maybe it's the new boy," whispered a girl from behind me.

"That one?" her friend asked.

"No, the other one. The _hot_ one." Normally, I would have felt at least a little bit insulted, but there were more important things to worry about.

"He's in my World History class and he's _gorgeous._ Tall, slim and dark." She gave a little sigh. "Funny, he kept starting to argue with the teacher about what he was teaching. Kept looking through the book and snorting. 'What do they teach in schools these days?' I heard him say once."

"That's stupid. He's our age." Her friend dismissed her. The girl said no more.

"Yeah, I saw him too. And his sister." A guy in the horns wolf whistled. "At least, I think they're related, they look so much alike. Not like the Cullens," he scoffed. I felt my knuckles clench at the tone in his voice, but said nothing. Mr. Miller was just getting up to his podium when someone knocked at the door.

All heads turned in unison. I was glad they hadn't made this big of a deal when I had come yesterday. I was too ordinary to make a fuss over. Mr. Miller sighed and went to open the door for the new boy.

"Mr. Ravenwood?" he asked.

"Yes."

All of the girls, and some of the guys, sighed when he spoke. His voice was smooth, like velvet and had a slight, London tilt to it. It was kind of pathetic that they got so worked up over one person, but then again, this town was very small. Nothing much could have possibly occurred in a town so small that would actually draw this much attention.

Mr. Miller opened the door the rest of the way and the sighs turned into gasps.

Now, I wasn't even the slightest bit gay, but even I couldn't disagree: this guy _was good_ looking. His skin was deathly pale and it contrasted well with his jet black hair. His bangs were cut so that they fell across the left side of his face. But as everyone's eyes traveled farther down his body, gasps turned to murmurs.

"Just _look_ at what he's wearing," one guy snorted.

"All that leather and studs. So not," I heard from the prattling voice of a girl named Lauren a few seats over.

These people had obviously never seen "The Lost Boys", because to me he seemed..._cool._

He wore a long leather overcoat with exaggerated coat tails down the back and wide sleeves at his wrists. Fingerless gloves adorned his hands. A black vest that had a little bit of a sparkle to it covered his chest, but it didn't seem like he had anything on underneath it. The girl behind me noticed this and sighed again. Low slung black jeans covered his hips and legs and his feet were slipped into boots that looked like they were made out of python.

"Oh my god, he's wearing _makeup,_" a guy said, disgusted.

"I think it's kind of hot," the girl next to him said. He shot a glare at her. She shrugged.

His eyes were lined with thick, black kohl eyeliner. They peeked over at the crowd watching him and his lips pulled up into a smirk. He crossed the room without an introduction, carrying what looked like a violin case. Sure enough, he stopped right by my row and looked down.

"May I?" he asked, pointed to the seat next to me. I nodded and moved my legs. He sighed and sat down next to me. It was a descent to put an experienced ballerina's plié to shame and cause the two girls behind me to giggle. He sighed. "Have they been like this the whole time?" he muttered quietly, leaning over so they couldn't hear.

"Yes." I half laughed. He growled and went back to taking his violin out of its case.

"Sometimes, I hate being me," he sighed. I could only imagine how serious he was. The people around us were still staring, but everyone else seemed to have lost some of their interest for now.

"Doesn't it bother you that everyone is staring at you?" I asked. The boy laughed.

"If I cared about that, don't you think I would have changed a long time ago?" He smiled. Mr. Miller called us all to attention. The boy fell silent, bow poised against the strings of his violin. He glanced over at the music of the girl next to him, nodded and smiled. Miller waved his baton and we began.

It was a new piece and very slow, without much of a rhythm. I bit my tongue to say anything about how horrible everyone sounded. When it came time for the strings to enter, I squeezed my eyes shut to try to block out the horrible sound. But...it never came. Everyone missed the entrance except for the boy. And the sound he produced was most defiantly not a squeak.

In fact, it sounded...beautiful. His eyes were half lidded, as if in thought. His fingers were gentle and slow, like a lover's caress. All of the notes were on pitch and held a certain emotion that I couldn't quite place. It took a few moments for me to notice that I was staring and a few more to see that I wasn't the only one. All of the strings had stopped to listen. The silence spread to the woodwinds in front, percussion in the back and finally the horns. I could have sworn I saw a small smirk dancing across the boy's lips. Mr. Miller stopped conducting, but he just went right along on his own.

The song ended on a soft, high note and finally his head lifted.

"What?" he prompted, seeing everyone staring…again. "It's not _that_ hard." He shrugged.

The bell for lunch rang, snapping everyone out of their daze. All the commotion must have made us run late. People filed out hurriedly, casting glances over their shoulders. The boy just shook his head and packed his stuff away.

"Andrew Ravenwood," he said, sticking his hand out for me to shake.

"Edward Masen," I replied back, shaking his hand. I nearly flinched when we touched. He was cold as death, but his skin had a strange softness to it.

"It's nice to meet you, Edward." He smiled. For the first time I noticed that his eyes were the same gold of the Cullens. "Hope you don't mind if Alice and I sit with you at lunch," he said, throwing his bag over his shoulder. I did the same and started to follow him out of the band room.

"Alice?" I asked. The name didn't sound familiar.

"My sister," he said. "I don't want to leave her alone the first day."

Almost everyone was through the line by the time we got to the cafeteria.

"You eating?" I asked Andrew.

"No, my mom's a health nut and makes Alice and I drink protein shakes for lunch." He rolled his eyes.

"I know the feeling. Well, my table is the only empty one. You and your sister can help yourselves." I smiled. He nodded and headed off. One flatbread grilled cheese paid for later and I was looking around the cafeteria for Andrew and Alice. I saw them at once.

Alice was wearing an outfit similar to her brothers, though admittedly a bit more subdued: A full plaid skirt, a long sleeved black t-shirt, leggings and black low top. Her hair was black and spiked out in a thousand different places. Eyes that matched her brother's were lined with a lighter black pencil. Two bow clips held her bangs out of her face.

"Hello, Edward," she said in a high, soprano voice. "Andrew's been telling me all about you." She smiled wide and held out her hand. "I'm Alice. I know we're going to be great friends." I laughed out loud at the tiny girl and shook her hand.

"It's wonderful to meet you, Alice." I smiled. She giggled and tugged a black, ceramic thermos out of her bag. Andrew did the same and took a swig before speaking.

"Why does no one sit with you, Edward?" He asked, glancing around the room. Several people, most of them girls, looked away. Jessica Stanley looked furious.

"They don't like me. I'm not cool enough." I shrugged. Andrew's eye brows furrowed together and his head tilted to the side.

"Well, I just met you and I already like you. Oh well, that means we can keep you all to ourselves." He poked Alice in the side and she convulsed in a giggle.

"Brother dear, will you please wait until I swallow before tickling me?" she demanded, poking him back. I smiled at the small exchange. It was kind of sweet. I caught Emmett waving at me out of the corner and waved back. Rose smiled at me and Charlotte gave a little wave of her own. She had traded _Salem's Lot_ for _Dead Until Dark, _the first Sookie Stackhouse novel. I had heard they were good and a lot sexier than anything Stephen King had over written. Jasper was glaring at all of them. Isabel was nowhere to be seen. I fought the impulse to frown and went back to Andrew and Alice.

"What other classes do you guys have?" I asked, trying to make conversation.

"Well, we missed our first two periods, but I have English Lit with Walker and Spanish with Esperanza. The rest of the day I have Physics, World History, Band, lunch and then Art with Alice." Andrew sighed. I smiled at the first class. Charlotte and him would get along like a house on fire.

"I have Biology with Walters and then Trigonometry with Rowen. The rest of the day I have Gym, but I didn't have to dress down today, then World History with Andy, Choir, lunch and then Art," Alice said. I sighed deeply. At least now I wouldn't have to rely on Angela to take pity on me anymore.

"That's cool. You're both in at least one of my classes. At least I'll have a couple of friends," I muttered.

"You'll get more. I know it," Alice said confidently and patted my hand. She took another dainty sip of what I assumed was her shake. Andrew had already downed his. He turned around to look at the Cullens. Jasper's eyes widened slightly, but he made no move to come over. Rose's tinkled with a hint of recognition, but she just shook her head. Charlotte looked at Emmett and then both shrugged.

"What's their problem?" he asked, turning back around.

"They just keep to themselves. It's because of their brother, the blonde one. He's a hard-ass. But Charlotte, Emmett and Rose are nice. You'll like them," I said. Alice nodded.

"I'm sure we will."

The two finished what little lunch they had and chatted with me. I asked about where they had lived.

"England mostly, but we lived in the Deep South for a few years. Alice has all but lost her accent." Andrew laughed. She pouted and punched his shoulder. Apparently their parents were in the Peace Corps and never around, so they just took care of themselves. Drank their shakes and kept the house clean. "You can come over sometime if you like. It's kind of out of the way, though," Andrew said.

We all looked up when the bell rang. Alice sighed happily and tugged on Andrew's arm.

"We have to go now or we won't get spots next to each other." she whined. He shook his head but consented. "We'll see you tomorrow, Edward." Alice called as she dragged her brother away. I smiled at the pair of them and hauled myself to Applied Calc.

Angela smiled at me when I arrived.

"So, what are they like?" she asked, no doubt for Jessica's sake.

"They're cool. Like normal people, but not, you know?" I said, trying to explain. She started to nod and then shook her head. Her glasses fell down again and I pushed them up for her. "Don't make me duct tape them to your nose," I mock threatened. She giggled and blushed before taking her seat.

Despite the fact that I was more than happy that Isabel wasn't there, I couldn't help but notice the empty seat next to me. The space felt empty, like something important was missing. I felt so pathetic that one person had taken over my life so completely and so soon. Maybe I would end up telling Andrew about it instead of Emmett. Or Charlotte.

I sighed, looked back to the board and tried not to think of Isabel.

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**So, in response to Kind-of-Crazy1, yes Alice is in this story. Do you honestly think I would cut out my favorite character? For those who may be confused on why Charlotte is blonde now, I changed her face to Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter) because I love her voice so much. It's perfect for this character. Anyway, review.**

**Until we meet again,**

**MonSangEstMonEncre**


	4. The Dark Angel

**Hello at last, lovely readers! I am very sorry that I didn't get this chapter up sooner, but school is proving to be yet another Eater-of-Time for me. I will try to update sooner next time. This chapter is kind of a reflection of _Twilight_ but then again, this whole story is. Please enjoy and thank you to all who review!!**

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****Sam Emerson**: [about Star] It's that girl from the boardwalk. Is she one of them?  
[Star floats up]  
**Sam Emerson**: She's one of them! And don't tell me it doesn't make her a bad person, Mike.

_"The Lost Boys"  
_

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Isabel did not return to school the next day, nor the following one. It seemed as if it were possible that she was never going to come back.

Everyday at lunch I would sit with Andrew and Alice and sneak what I hoped were slight glances at the Cullen's lunch table. None of them seemed the least bit bothered that their sister had disappeared off the face of the planet, aside from Jasper. But, then again, Jasper always looked cross at everyone, save for Charlotte. She, Rose and Emmett seemed perfectly at ease with me, whereas their brother refused to even look at me.

"It's just Jasper's way, Edward," Charlotte said Friday morning in the library. We had started _Wuthering Heights_ in English and since neither Charlotte, Andrew nor I needed to read it again, we had nothing to do. Charlotte and I were talking; Andrew was in the latter chapters of a book about 16th century Europe. He kept chuckling to himself now and again.

Charlotte swept a white gold lock out of her eyes.

"He does _mean_ well, like I said, but with what's going on with Izzy, he's very…on edge," she stuttered. "But I think she'll be back on Monday, so he should calm down a bit." She gazed down upon the cover of her book for a moment but didn't open it.

"Jasper seems very in tune with how your sister feels," Andrew remarked after a moment. "I think if she comes back happy, he'll loosen back up." Charlotte stared at him wide eyed and for half a second I could have sworn he had winked at her. I sighed and shook my head. It must have just been a trick of the light, mimicking a lightning quick movement.

"Charlotte?" I asked. Her head turned back to me. "Why did Isabel leave so quickly?" Two heart beats passed before she answered.

"I'm not sure. She and Jasper are the roots of our family. She has been alone all her life in a way; an island unto herself." Charlotte sighed. "Maybe she just doesn't know how to deal with people yet." She shrugged and went back to staring at the cover of her book. Today was still _Dead After Dark_. Her fingers twisted and untwisted in worry and her teeth tugged her lip into her mouth.

"Who did you lose?" Andrew asked suddenly. Charlotte looked up, her eyebrows knitted together. "Your family, the way you look after them…it's because you lost someone didn't you?" He muttered.

Charlotte's eyes darkened five shades to a near black and I saw her jaw clench.

"_That is none of your business," s_he hissed, slamming her stuff into her bag and stomping out of the library. Andrew and I watched her for a few moments before looking back at each other. Andrew's eyebrows were bunched together.

"Have I said something?"

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Emmett and Rose both agreed with Charlotte's view on Jasper's sour mood.

"He's a hardass. Always has been. It's part of his charm, you could say." Emmett laughed. "But he is still my brother, the closest thing to a father we have ever had since—" He paused suddenly. "…Never mind," he muttered. I caught a sad sigh escaping Emmett's mouth. After what had happened the period before with Charlotte, I decided that Rose would be the best person to ask about what Emmett had said, or not said.

"But I'm sure Izz will be back on Monday. You'll see," Emmett said, confidence seeping from his voice. I nodded as the bell rang and all but dragged myself to Gym.

Alice was there, a smile on her face. She was dressed down today with black volleyball shorts and a red tank top. Her dramatic coloring was in plain view, as well as the surprisingly athletic tone to her body. She caught a couple of boys staring and rolled her eyes.

I caught her eye after I had dressed and she danced over to me. With Alice, it was never a simple walk. She wrapped her dainty arms around me in a light hug and smiled.

"Dodge ball today," she said simply. "Do you want to be on my team?" she asked. I nodded and she smiled. "I knew it." She laughed out loud.

Coach Valner came a moment later to call us to order and make Mike Newton and Eric Yorkie get all the balls out for our game. We divided into two teams, spread out on either end of the huge Gym.

"Now, remember," Valner boomed from the center of the court. "No hitting, no fighting and if anyone breaks any bones….keep it to yourselves." And with that note he bolted into his office and left us to ourselves.

I sorely wished to join him.

The second his door closed, it was a mad house of tribal yells, battle cries and splattered flesh. Alice, sensing my obvious defenselessness, often came to my rescue, tugging my shirt to make me miss balls before I even knew they were coming at me. I narrowly avoided getting smacked in the head and ended up causing Angela to be knocked out.

When at last the period was over, everyone was congratulating each other, but no one went to say anything to Alice. I saw her eyes grow a little darker and I went over to her.

"Thank you," I said. "They'd probably be carrying me home in a matchbox if it weren't for you." I laughed under my breath. She smiled, shook her head and laughed.

"No you wouldn't." She said.

The bell rang just as I finished getting dressed and I all but ran to the safety of American Government.

Rose was already in her spot. I wondered how she could get around so quickly since I left Gym at the same time Emmett left his American Lit class. It was the same distance from the building as I was, but they always talked before she arrived. She smiled as I sat down. The stares I would usually get from any red-blooded male within a twenty-foot radius seemed to have calmed down over the past week.

"Happy Friday." She beamed, bringing her hair over her right shoulder.

"Not for everyone it seems." I sighed. Rose's face fell for a moment before she responded.

"Charlotte is very sensitive about her past life. By the time Jasper had found her she was completely alone, lost and hungry on the streets. Our father took her in without a second thought and ever since Jasper's sort of taken her under his wing, whether she likes it or not." Rose chuckled. "He smothers her, but he means well."

I growled at the ever repeated phrase. I didn't care if this Jasper _meant_ well, all that mattered to me was if he knew how much of pain in the ass he was being to his family. Charlotte obviously didn't like how he treated her, but knew he didn't mean it. Rose was too nice. Emmett, well Emmett probably wanted to teach him a lesson, but Charlotte had forbidden it.

This family was becoming stranger and stranger.

"Rose, I know you probably shouldn't tell me, but what exactly happened to Charlotte before she came to you?" I asked, choosing each word carefully. Rose chewed on her lip before speaking.

"All I can say is that she was born in Chicago. Her parents died when she was very young and she had no other family to go to. One day we were in the park and she was sleeping inside one of those playpens that look like a castle. Jasper dragged her home for Car - for us to see and she's been with us ever since." She said. Her voice hitched when she started to say something, but aborted it. _Yet another mystery to unravel_, I supposed.

The bell rang again. My whole day seemed to be speeding up in anticipation for the weekend, or, if I was being honest with myself, Monday. My stomach knotted at the thought of seeing Isabel again. I felt my cheeks burn at the thought and I walked to band with my head hung low.

Andrew did not seem to share the Cullen's punctuality and came in just as the second bell for class rang. Mr. Miller didn't seem to notice as he slid into his seat next to me.

Jessica Stanly erupted the second she saw him and began to whisper to the girl next to her.

"I heard he's already got his tongue down Annie Jones' throat. Apparently his parents sent him and his sister here to make them live like, you know, _normal_ people." She sneered in his direction. Andrew growled, set down his violin and turned to look at Jessica.

"Honey, you're just jealous I didn't want to shove my tongue down _your_ throat," he said coldly before turning himself back around. I didn't think he realized exactly how loud he had said it, because every single person turned around to stare at him. Jessica was dumbfounded. A thick red-headed girl's cheeks were the color of fire. Andrew caught her eye and winked.

Mr. Miller finally came to himself and asked for everyone to try again at the piece he had made us start the day before. Everyone did so, still in a bit of a daze from the obvious challenge of the status quo.

The music was better today than it had been the day before. Andrew played well, but I sensed a bit of stress in his playing; it didn't quite have that same even, musical tone it had when he had previously played it.

Band ended quickly and everyone bolted to lunch. Whispers about what Andrew and Annie did or didn't do together abounded. A group of girls shot him jealous glares and he just laughed.

"How do you do it?" I asked him as we sat down. Alice was no where to be seen. "I mean, how do you just laugh at all the stuff they say about you? If it were me-,"

"But you're _not_ me, Edward." Andrew interrupted. "And it _isn't_ you. After all these years, I can care less what people say about me. I've heard it all by now: the _fag_; the _whore_; the _junkie_; the _freak_. So, tell me, Edward, what makes these kids any worse than any of that?" He growled.

Before I could even open my mouth, he was up and gone, pack thrown over his shoulder. I felt my heart sink, looked down at my pizza, and pushed it away.

I had lost my appetite.

* * *

Monday dawned cold and fair, the first hints of winter's frost dusted over the ground. The weekend had passed uneventfully. Alice had managed to call me and apologize for her brother's behavior. I lied and told her it was alright. I could tell she didn't believe me.

My mother and I did not speak on Mondays; neither of us were very agreeable at the time. She managed to shove a mug of coffee into my hands, black as night, and sent me on my way.

I sat in the parking lot of the high school and searched for a familiar face to follow into my first class. I was early, unfortunately for me, and almost everyone was still home.

I turned when I heard the purr of a sports car and my jaw dropped at the sight.

Andrew was behind the wheel of a slick, silver Porsche Lotus, the very picture of upper class ease. Alice was sitting next to him and gave a little laugh at what I was sure was an awed expression on my face.

The pair of them got out with a disturbing fluidity and Alice danced over to me, Andrew a few paces behind.

"Isabel is here today," she said with her usual confidence. I didn't bother to ask how she knew, for I found out myself before I could.

A silver Volvo pulled into the lot and squeaked into the spot next to Andrew and Alice's Lotus. I could spot Charlotte, Rose and Emmett in the back and the back of Jasper's head in the passenger's seat. I gulped when _she_ stepped out onto the pavement, sliding her hair over her left shoulder. Her perfect, gold eyes caught mine and my heart fell into my stomach when they narrowed.

Jasper turned to look at me and I felt gooseflesh crop up all over my skin. Charlotte slapped him on the arm and he gave her a pleading look. A brief, yet intense, staring match ensued, with Charlotte coming out on top. Jasper growled and wrapped a hand around her wrist and tugged her away. She cast a pleading look at us, but submitted.

"Wow, you weren't kidding," Andrew said faintly, looking on as Rose and Emmett followed the other three into Building One.

"What, you're talking to me now?" I snapped. Andrew flinched and hung his head.

"Don't be too hard on him, Edward," Alice said, giving her brother's hand a squeeze. "He really is sorry." I traced the drooping lines of his face for a moment before nodding.

"Of course. Come on, let's go. Bell's about to ring." I shrugged, striding over to Building Three.

"Do you think Charlotte's very angry about what I said to her on Friday?" Andrew asked when Alice had split off from us. "I mean, I was only curious and I didn't mean to offend her." He sounded worried. The sound nearly made me want to laugh.

"I think she'll forgive you as long as you say you're sorry. I don't think she can hold a grudge. But if you find out why she flipped, tell me," I said. Andrew nodded.

Charlotte was in her seat, covered in black from head to toe. She looked more like a member of the Ravenwood clan than the Cullen's when she dressed like that. I laughed softly to myself at how I imagined that pleased Andrew before sitting down next to her.

I caught Andrew staring at her three times before the three of us were dismissed for our 'free block' as we called it.

Considering our research papers were due by the end of the semester and it was already March, I had decided to start on _Dorian Gray_. Andrew and Charlotte went off to their own little corner, talking about things I couldn't hear. I could only assume she had forgiven him, judging by how close they were sitting together. I would have to ask Alice about it later.

Chemistry held no surprises. Emmett went on and on about Isabel going mad and finally being back. It all went in one ear and out the other.

I tried not to think of Isabel, the beautiful, dark angel that had captured my imagination the moment I had seen her. I wandered through the day like a zombie from trying not to think of her. Alice tried to get my attention and prattled about how besotted Andrew was with Charlotte. This came as no surprise to me.

Band passed and then lunch, without so much as a word from anyone. And then it was time to step into hell.

I walked to Calculus like a one condemned. I remembered the black, hating eyes of Isabel and dreaded each step I had to take.

She was already there when I arrived, hair draped over one shoulder, eyes staring off into nothing. I felt an irrational fear well up in my chest and all my blood rushed to my legs, gearing up for a quick getaway. I went to sit down, not looking at her.

"Hello, Edward," Isabel said, her voice strong, but not threatening as I had thought it would be. "I'm sorry I never got a chance to introduce myself. I'm Isabel."

"I know," I blurted out before I could stop myself. "I mean, yes, I know your siblings." I tried to smile through my surprise, but came up short.

"Yes, I know." She laughed. The sound was like the tinkling of silver bells: soft and instantly addicting. "Charlotte speaks most highly of you. I'm surprised; she usually doesn't take to men so quickly. Then again, Jasper doesn't let her." She laughed again.

"It's not like that," I said, too quickly.

"I know. But she needs a friend, not her brothers and sisters, and you're just perfect for that job." She smiled.

Mrs. Triana called us all to attention and set us about on doing our review packets.

"Why did you move here?" Isabel asked, glancing over each problem for a few seconds before writing down an answer. "It's not that desirable for an Arizonian." She chuckled under her breath.

"My mother," I said simply. "She wanted to come here. My dad he…wasn't the greatest. He was a drunk and violent one at that. She wanted me to be safe, so here I am," I whispered, almost afraid of being overheard. I knew here it would be a big deal and I didn't want people to feel sorry for the battered little boy.

I looked up to see Isabel staring at me.

"That's horrible," she said meekly.

"It's happens, Isabel. Maybe in this very town." I shrugged. "I'm used to it. Actually…it's kind of weird not being afraid all the time. It's a welcome change; don't get me wrong, but still…it takes getting used to." I smiled. Isabel's eyes were a deep goldenrod, and they were glassed over, as if they held unshed tears. "It's okay, Isabel. Really." I reached over and touched her hand before I could stop myself. We both jumped and her hand shot back.

"Sorry," she said under her breath and turned her attention back to her paper.

"I didn't me-,"

"It's fine." She hiss

* * *

ed. I flinched back and tried to focus. I saw her hands shake out of the corner of her eye and her nails dig into her knee. When at last the bell rang and she glided out the door, there were holes in her jeans

I grabbed my stuff and walked out the door to my car in a bit of daze.

The last of winter's ice coated the ground, still hard and slick as December's. I slid to my car and popped the trunk to show my bag into it. I thought of Isabel's mood swings, how she could go from sweet to unsavory faster than anyone I had ever met. A constant enigma, she was.

I had just fallen into pondering her beautiful eyes when I heard someone scream from behind. I didn't have time to register the sound of crunching ice and screeching tires before something ice cold and rock hard pounded me to the ground.

Everything happened in slow motion, not as if everyone was slowing down, but that my brain was comprehending everything at a much faster rate. I saw a slim arm slide under my legs and drag them out of the way of battered White Wall tires. My head slammed to the ground with a sickening crack and I heard a woman cry out. Blood dripped from a spot of pain in my head and my eyes fluttered open and closed.

"Edward," I heard someone whisper. "Please, don't be dead." She panted, shaking my shoulders. I groaned and I heard her sigh. I opened my eyes to see Isabel looking down at me. A dent just the size of her arm was embedded into the side of a red car.

"Isabel?" I groaned. "How did you…?"

"Never mind that. Don't try to talk; you're losing a lot of blood." She groaned, looking at what I'm sure was an ever growing puddle under me. The edges of my world darkened, but I was unwilling to leave the angel above me. Sirens sounded in the distance. "Let go, Edward. It'll be alright now, I promise," she said, making a futile attempt at a smile.

I sighed, smiling in spite of myself and surrendered to the blissful darkness, the face of the angel burned into my eyelids.

* * *

**Review? Pretty please with Jacob on top?**

**Until we meet again, **

**MonSangEstMonEncre  
**


	5. Enigma

**Hello at last, Lovies. School has officially eaten my life, but my parents got me a laptop, so I can write anywhere. Hopefully more chapters will come of it. Enjoy.**

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**_**David**: Michael wants to know what's going on. Marco, what's going on?  
**Marko**: I don't know. What's going on, Paul?  
**Paul**: Wait a minute. Who wants to know?  
**Dwayne**: Michael wants to know._

_"The Lost Boys"_

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The strangest of images greeted me when I regained consciousness: Three reptilian heads surrounded by a ring of light. The one on the far left's face was pinched up, like it'd been crying. The one in the center reached out a claw to touch its shoulder. The short one on the right gave a little squeak and pointed to me.

"Edward!" A voice that I barely recognized said before the body attached to it attacked me.

"Hey, Mom." I groaned, my head throbbing as her arms wrapped around my neck.

"We thought you were dead," Mother cried. I felt hot, fresh tears on my cheek and sighed. Mother could always be dramatic when she wished to be. A male voice snorted.

"She means _she_ thought you were dead. Alice and I never wavered," Andrew said with a small nod. Alice was vibrating by his side.

The details of the objects around me where starting to come into view. My mother's hair tasted like hairspray and dry shampoo and frizz. She hadn't slept. Alice and Andrew were dressed simply and there was no makeup on his face. Neither had they.

"What…what happened to me?" I groaned when my mom released me. She started to speak, the beginnings of many a ramblings on her tongue. Andrew silenced her.

"Angela Webber hit a turn too fast in the parking lot. The ice made her spin and she almost hit you. Isabel said you cracked your head _really _hard," Alice said in a rush. That got my attention.

"Where is Isabel?" I asked, sitting upright. I ignored my throbbing head. "Is she alright? What about Angela?" I hoped no one noticed the fact that I asked about a girl who hated me before one that was actually my friend. I saw Andrew raise an eyebrow, but the others seemed unaffected.

"She's fine, amazingly enough. And Angela will be okay. She has several minor scratches and a concussion, but the doctors say she was very lucky. She keeps asking about you and she won't _shut up._" Andrew groaned. I chuckled. That certainly did sound like Angela.

I felt a strange pressure in my chest relieve itself when I heard Isabel was fine. I hated to think that in the process of saving me, which I was sure she had, that she had come to any harm.

Alice did most of the talking from then on, chattering about how everyone at school was talking about it and some had even showed up to wait to see what was going on.

_They're waiting to see Angela, not me,_ I wanted to say, but held my tongue. It wasn't the time for my own bitterness. Andrew got my mother to go get some coffee and sat in the back of the room, staring at me. He never blinked, as if he were concentrating on something.

About a half hour into Alice's speech, a woman wearing a white doctor's coat appeared.

"Hello, Mr. Masen," the woman said, smiling with a mouth full of unnaturally bright teeth. "I heard you took quite a spill. How's your head feeling?"

"Sore." I shrugged. There was a throbbing pain right above where my spinal cord met my neck, but that was to be expected.

"Well, you did get a nasty concussion, so I would expect that not to go away completely for a few days, she stated. "Painkillers and bed rest is all that can be done, I think." She sighed, brushing an auburn wave out of her eye.

My eyes glanced over the name embroidered into her coat and felt my eyes grow wide.

"Doctor _Cullen?_" I asked, looking up at her eyes. They matched the eyes of her children. "Isabel's mother?" I asked.

"Yes. Esme Cullen," she said, hesitating for a moment. "Ah, you must be _the_ Edward." She chuckled after a brief pause. "My children seem to speak of nothing else. Well, I use the term speak loosely. It's mostly yelling, I must admit." She sighed deeply, speaking with the tone of a worried mother. Blood rose to my cheeks and I looked down at my hands.

"I didn't know I was so much trouble," I muttered. Esme laughed and shook her head.

"It's no trouble at all, dear, and I'm sure it's of no fault of your own." She smiled, signing something on my chart before hanging it back on the bed on my bed. "It's always good to know the battle lines when you have more than one child. Currently it's Charlotte, Emmett and Rose against Jasper and Isabel. I try not to choose sides, but I certainly don't see anything wrong with you," she said, smiling again.

"_Wrong _with me?" I asked before thinking. My heart dropped into my stomach at the thought that people I hardly knew were talking about me that way. Esme bit her tongue and averted her eyes.

"Well…it's just that they're arguing about whether you're…compatible with our family. We normally prefer to keep to ourselves and Jasper doesn't want to call attention to the family. He mentioned you two as well." She said, tossing Andrew a look over her shoulder.

"And what's the matter with _us_?" Andrew snapped. Alice shot him a warning glance and took over.

"What my brother means is: how can we possibly be a threat to you? We don't _know_ you and you don't know us." Alice's voice was diplomatic, but stern; clearly not to be messed with.

"I know, but you have to understand-,"

"What I _understand_ is that some of your children are being extremely rude to someone who has done them no harm. Don't you dare defend that to me," Andrew said. His tone left no room for argument, as if some power was embedded in it, daring her to disobey. Esme opened her mouth several times to speak, but not a sound was produced.

"Painkillers, bed rest. You're free to go," she said in a rush, walking out of the room with a feline grace.

"Why did you have to say that to her, Andrew? You know she's going to tell them!" Alice shrieked at her brother.

"Because Edward is our friend, Alice. If someone walked all over you like that, I would do the same thing," Andrew said, his voice surprisingly calm. "Isabel will come around eventually, I'm sure. Until then, I think it best we assimilate ourselves as much as possible."

"You mean fit in?" Alice snorted.

"No, I mean make ourselves known. Spring Musical auditions are next week and I'm auditioning whether you want me to or not. I suggest you find something to throw yourself into as well," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

I watched the conversation unfold with a growing sense of confusion. The way they were talking made them seem alien to me, like they weren't just like the rest of us, which of course they weren't.

Alice seemed torn, but said nothing more.

"Come on, let's get you home," Andrew said, smiling at last. He had just begun to get out of his seat when he was interrupted.

"Actually," Isabel began, poking her head into the door. "I would like to speak to Edward if you don't mind." Andrew raised an eyebrow. For one whole second I thought he wasn't going to let her in and an anger I did not understand threatened to consume me.

"By all means," he said at last, bowing to the side so she could pass. "Come on, Alice. I need coffee." She didn't argue and within three seconds, Isabel and I were alone.

For the longest time, we didn't speak. She leaned back against the closed door, brown hair falling down into her eyes. The golden orbs looked into mine and it seemed as if they went on forever, filled with sorrow and what I thought was pity. I felt my face get hot.

"You didn't have to save me, Isabel," I said at last. For half a second, I thought I saw in her flinch.

"What was I supposed to do? Just let you die?" She hissed angrily. "Wish you had told me that three days ago and saved us both some trouble," she grumbled.

"I didn't know I was so much of a bother," I repeated under my breath, looking down at my hands. "You probably think you'd be better off if I were dead anyway." Isabel gasped and I looked up in time to see her shake her head.

"I don't think that, Edward, and neither should you," she said, her voice gentle. She moved for the first time and sat at the edge of my bed. "Aren't you going to ask the question?" she asked.

"What question?" I countered, wanting to hear it from her own mouth.

"How I saved you. So many people have asked me that question, but not you. It's very strange." She chuckled humorlessly under her breath.

"I don't need to know, Isabel," I said, reaching out to touch her hand. She didn't flinch away from me this time. "I'm just glad that you did. The means by which you did it…is none of my business."

"I don't understand," she said after a moment. I sighed.

"Isabel…who you are and _what_ you are…it's nothing to me. You aren't bound to tell me a thing." I said.

"You know?" she asked shakily, attempting to keep the panic out of her voice. I shook my head.

"I only know that you aren't human. And neither is Jasper, Rose, Emmett or Charlotte. And…I'm not going to tell anyone, Isabel. You've kept your secret for this long; I would hate myself for ruining it." I sighed and looked down at my hands again.

"You are such a strange man." Isabel chuckled. "You know so much about my family and yet you choose to say none of it?" she questioned, her voice sounding strangely awed by the fact.

"Who am I going to tell? Who would listen to me?" I said sadly. For the first time in my life I felt so alone in the world. I had no one to share this fabulous secret with and for the first time I realized how sad that was. Even Isabel had her family. Andrew and Alice had each other. Who did I have? No one to speak of. Mother would only laugh at me if I told her.

"That's not true," Isabel mumbled, her head bowed. "You have Andrew and Alice and Angela and Charlotte, Emmett and Rose. You're not nearly as poorly off as you think you are." She attempted a laugh.

"And you are?" I asked. "You have a family that loves you. Surely that must count for something." I said. "You have brothers and sisters and a mother who want to help you," I added. _You could have me, _I grumbled inwardly.

"I guess," she sighed, rising at last from her spot at the end. "I'll see you at school, Edward. Get well soon." She leaned down in front of me and pressed her lips to my forehead. For two whole seconds I felt my heart stop. I had never gotten a kiss from anyone but my mother and Elizabeth Garden in the second grade. Her lips were ice cold, similar to the way the ice had felt on my skin when she had saved me from Angela's car, but somehow they still felt a little soft, like silk.

"By the way, Charlotte is planning to ambush you the second you get home. Andrew told her your address," Isabel whispered. "Maybe I'll tag along to keep her in line." She smirked and sauntered her way out the door. Mother passed her on the way in and gave her a very obvious once over.

"_Mom! Get in here,_" I hissed. She giggled and cradled a mug of coffee in her hands.

"I was just observing. I thought you said there were no cute girls at school. Since I got here I've seen four. You've been holding out on me." Mother laughed, sitting back in a chair. "But I must be grateful to that young woman for saving my son's life. You said her name when you were asleep." A hot blush rose to my face.

"Really?" I asked. Mother nodded.

"You like that girl," she said. It wasn't a question.

"Oh God, am I really that obvious?" I cried in anguish. No wonder Isabel was being so nice to me. She probably felt sorry for me, like I was a little boy that had a crush on a girl he couldn't have. And I _knew_ I couldn't have Isabel. There was something unattainable about her. We were from two different worlds it seemed, now more so than ever.

"Just a tiny bit. I'm your mother; I notice these things." Mother smiled. "The doctors said you could leave, but come back if you have any problems that may have been caused by brain damage," Mother said, pulling out a set of clothes and shooing me off to the bathroom.

I dressed quickly, the pain at the base of my neck annoying but bearable. The wonderful, soft knit of my sweater felt like curling up in front of the fire at a ski lodge in the dead of winter. My old jeans felt like a dream, much more so than those stupid hospital gowns. I laughed out loud at the sight of my messy hair in the mirror. It was comforting to know that some things in the world were constant.

"You get my car?" I asked when I walked out of the bathroom.

"Yeah. It was strange: the only damage it got was a crush taillight and the Webber's have offered to pay for that. All it seems I owe is my insurance dividends which _will_ come out of your gas money." She laughed. I held my breath until she turned to leave. I didn't want my mother to read too far into what happened in the crash. I walked out of the door with her and passed Andrew standing outside a room two down from me. A cup of gourmet coffee sat in his hands.

"What are you…looking at?" I asked, coming up beside him. My voice faded as I saw who was in the room.

"Angela," I sighed. She was laid back in bed, countless bandages covering almost half the surface area of her head and chest. Her hair hadn't been washed and it was still matted with blood. Her right leg was up on a pillow and wrapped in a cast. The rest of her body was hidden beneath a hospital gown and thin bed sheets.

"Paramedics said she wasn't wearing her seatbelt." Andrew said. His coffee remained untouched. "The momentum of the crash threw her against the passenger door and crushed her leg. She's been beat up real bad, Edward." His voice was pained, as if the thought of someone's body going through that caused him to feel their pain. "The doctors said she will be okay,though. They're keeping her sedated for a while. I sat with her when she was awake. All she could talk about was you; how much it terrified her to see that she was coming right at you. It's a funny thing: she never mentioned Isabel at all," he said. "I wonder why that is," he muttered breathily, as if speaking to himself.

"Andrew, why do you ask questions to which you already know the answers?" I sighed, turning around and walking out the door to the lobby. A small flurry of people surrounded me, not the least of which was a certain short blonde.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Charlotte exclaimed, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling herself into my chest. "I feared for the worst," she said. Her voice trembled and I returned her fierce embrace. "Andrew and Alice kept saying that you would be okay, but I didn't believe them. I didn't want to; didn't want to hope."

"I'm perfectly fine, Charlotte, I swear it," I said. To see how much she cared was touching.

"Good. Maybe my heart will stop pounding now." She laughed under her breath. "Your mom is bringing you home right?" she asked. She sounded just like a worried mother looking after a baby.

"Yes, Charlotte. Come and visit if you're so worried about me. Just not tonight." I laughed. "I'm going to crash the second I get home."

"Understandable." Charlotte smiled and released me. Emmett and Rose both smiled at me and even Jasper nodded. His eyes didn't seem to hold quite as much hatred as they had at school, but in no way were they trusting. "Get home and get some sleep, okay?" Charlotte insisted. I nodded and moved around her.

"God, you know how to be a sloth. Let's go!" Mom called from outside the hospitals sliding doors. The trusty pick-up was waiting in the parking lot.

The ride home was uneventful. Mother opened and closed her mouth several times but never said a word. I didn't ask. I was pretty sure it had something to do with Isabel and I was _so_ not in the mood for an awkward sex talk.

Being able to sit in my own kitchen and wash in my own shower was so much closer to heaven that it had ever felt before. Being traumatized did things to a person. Then again, the knowledge that Isabel may step foot in the house may have had something to do with it.

I knew it was wrong to be so attracted to a person that probably wasn't even my own species, but I was only a guy and she, despite whatever mask she chose to hide behind, was only a girl. The most beautiful and intriguing girl I had ever met.

But still the elephant in the room lingered: if she wasn't a human, then _what was she? _

I had only what I had observed to help me answer:

1. She was much more fast and strong than any human

2. She was inhumanly beautiful, just like the rest of her family.

3. She never ate or drank.

4. Her eyes changed color from yellow to black and back again, often with her mood.

But what did all that lead to? What was the joining factor that would make me slap myself for not seeing it before?

I sighed and flopped down on my bed. My laptop's standby light pulsed silently, the glow beckoning me to Google. My brain computed the time it would take me to sift through all the crap floating on the web to find something that I could actually believe. It didn't seem like an easy task, so it would just have to wait for tomorrow. Mom had said I could stay home from school because of my concussion. I thought it was because she was afraid of me going into shock or worse: having girls over.

I chuckled at the thought and wrapped the covers of my bed around me. The mystery of Isabel would be solved on a later date and if I couldn't find anything I would just have to wait until she told me.

My heart leapt at the thought of her trusting me that much.

I really needed to stop that. Isabel wasn't interested in me, but she had saved my life and I couldn't deny that it had made me sort of enamored with her. My fingers brushed across the spot on my forehead that her lips had touched and I sighed.

How could someone have so much power over me? It would just be another eternal question that would have to wait until tomorrow.

My eyes fluttered closed and I smiled at Isabel's face on my eyelids.


	6. A Grand Day Out

**My sincerest apologies for the wait. I don't even know if any of you are still there, but here's a chapter at last. Plot Bunnies for Glee attacked me and I was forced to put my Twilight works on hold. Thankfully, my inspiration for all my stories (it makes it hard that they are all in different fandoms) has returned, so there will be many, many more updates. Thanks, as always, to Laura for her amazing beta-ing. **

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I could feel the sunshine on my face before I saw it.

_Sunshine?_ I thought to myself. _Blessed sunshine in Forks? Today seems like a good day already. _I laughed under my breath.

"Someone's having a good morning."

In a moment of extreme panic, a squeal escaped me and I sat up in bed. Andrew chuckled, taking a calm sip from his mug.

"Your mum let me in, hope you don't mind. It was me, Charlotte or Isabel. I'm just glad your mum knew better than to let any beautiful girls into a young man's bedroom." He smirked. I felt my cheeks flush and he laughed out loud. "Oh, don't be such a prude, Edward. You're young; you may as well enjoy it." He chuckled under his breath and took another sip of his drink.

"What's your poison?" I asked, nodding towards the cup. Andrew raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"I don't think it'll be to your tastes, Edward," he said, looking at me. He took a long, slow drink, his eyes boring into mine. For the first time, I noticed that they were a glittering black. The longer he drank, the lighter his eyes got until they were a rich gold. I blinked.

"Don't you think so?" he asked rhetorically, a false innocence in his face and voice.

I thought for several seconds before I spoke. There was always the off chance that Andrew would tell me the truth if I asked what I wanted to ask, but I knew he would never say a word on Isabel's behalf. The more I thought about it, the more alike the two of them seemed to get.

Despite my heterosexuality, I could see that Andrew was impossibly attractive, like Isabel. His eyes changed color, like hers. He walked like her, after a fashion. Their skin was pale and cold. Although they looked nothing alike, the similarities far outweighed the differences between the two.

"Andrew…what are you?" I asked cautiously. The right side of his mouth pulled up into a smirk and he chuckled under his breath.

"You're a clever boy, Edward, I'll give you that," he said, lip twitching.

"Boy?" I snapped, indignant. "I've had genuine shock and trauma. It's aged me, I swear. I have skin like an old Bible!" I laughed. Andrew rolled his eyes.

"You're still just a boy to me. A baby even," he murmured beneath his breath.

"How do you mean?" I asked. "How old are you? Older than you look?" I asked. He waited a moment before putting down his cup and folding his hands in his lap.

"I am 527 years old, Edward," he said. A laugh was rising in my throat before I realized that he was serious.

"But you can't be…" I said without thinking.

"And why not?" he challenged. "How are you to know I'm not telling the truth?" His eyes sparkled and for once I noticed how deep they were, almost…old. Like they had seen much more than I could ever imagine.

"I was a servant in the court of King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I. I was nearly Prince of Spain twice. I was at the Bastille fortress the night it was stormed. I have lived in secret among the Ottomans. I saw this country torn apart in Civil War, and lived to see the world fall into ruin during The Great War. I have fought and killed many a man and have loved many more," he said, voice deep in its wisdom. His eyes sparkled once again, the tiniest laugh inside the darkness. "Do you believe me?" he asked.

"Yes." I said. It was impossible not to. "So…what exactly _are _you? What species? It's not everyday I get to ask that question." I laughed. Andrew smirked and handed me the cup.

"See what it is. It should be pretty self-explanatory," he said. I raised an eyebrow and looked down into the cup. I shrieked before practically throwing it back at him. Dribbles of red liquid landed on my sheets and began to spread like ink on parchment. Andrew caught the flying cup in his hand and took a sip. He made a face. "Such a shame; it cools so quickly, too," he muttered.

"Blood?" I said, gagging.

"It may be disgusting to you, but to me it tastes like…roast turkey and…sunflower seeds. Odd combination, but still tasty." Andrew shrugged. Despite the horror the rest of my body felt, my mind was forcibly calm and calculating.

"You're…a _vampire_?" I asked.

"Yep," Andrew said with a shrug. "Is that okay?" he asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah," I said after a moment. "I mean…you haven't killed me yet, which makes me think that you won't or you don't want to. Does that make sense?" I asked, trying to put the jumble of thoughts running around my head into plain English.

"Yes. I can't speak for the others as far as species or intent therein, but I like you. I'm not planning on killing you anytime soon, Edward." He smiled and set his mug aside. "Besides, I don't kill humans or drink from them anymore." He spoke so nonchalantly, as if we were discussing the weather instead of the dynamics of vampirism. I guess after so long it was just normal, like humans were the freaks instead.

"Why?" I asked. "It must not be that easy to abstain from your natural food source." Andrew barked a laugh.

"I haven't drunk from a human in nearly 450 years and I still have trouble sometimes. I feed off of animals. It keeps me strong enough to stay away from humans, but it's still not fully satisfying," he remarked, laughing under his breath.

"Like when my Mom made me give up chocolate for Lent one year and I could only eat sugar-free food?" I asked.

"Kind of. It's a similar concept: denying yourself something you love in favor of something that you can barely stand," he said.

"So…what about all the other stories about vampires?" I asked.

"What about them?"

"Well…like do you have to sleep in a coffin? Can you drink from dead people? How can you walk around in the daylight? Can you look at crucifixes?" I was about to roll out flurry of deep inquiries when Andrew interrupted me with a laugh.

"I can't give away everything, Edward. Those are not my secrets to tell and I know you don't want to hear them from me," he said. "You know who you have to ask." He sighed and turned around. "OI! He's up!" he yelled through the door. No sooner had his voice finished echoing had Charlotte burst through the door, latching herself onto me.

"Edward! How are you feeling? How's your head?" she asked, poking and prodding anything she could reach from the top of my head down to my abdomen.

"I'm perfectly fine, Charlotte." I sighed. "I told you yesterday. Your mother hooked me up with some awesome pain medication, so I should be set for awhile. Didn't my mom tell you to stay outside?" I groaned as she continued her assessment of my health.

"Yes, but I can be very convincing if I choose to be, Edward." she said. Her fingers stopped their poking and returned to her side, seeming to favor the lack of wounds they had found. "Isabel's outside, but I thought you may want to get dressed before you see her." I flushed and looked away from her eyes. She laughed and leaned in to hug me again. " And I'd take a shower if I were you. Just try not to open your stitches," she said, smiling back at Andrew as she exited the basement. Andrew's shoulders were shaking from trying to control a fit of giggles, no doubt at the horrified look on my face.

"I think I'm going to kill you," I hissed, throwing back the covers on my bed. "And don't look so damn pleased with yourself." I sighed, slamming the bathroom door to drown out his laughter.

* * *

Andrew's reflection held his tongue between his teeth and his fingers moved through my hair. A bottle of unused hair gel was sitting on the bathroom counter in front of us. He had pounced on me the second I had stepped out of the shower and had dragged me back into the bathroom.

"You are not setting foot out of this room looking like that," he had exclaimed, throwing a pair of dark-wash jeans, a white tee-shirt and a blue striped button down at my face. "And what the hell are you going to do with your hair? You know what, don't answer that. Sit down." He ordered, shoving me into a chair in front of my mirror and attacking my hair.

"You're not going to make me wear make-up, are you?" I asked, hating the sliver of fear that crept into my voice.

"Not today, my friend, not today. Just a little bit of gel and you should be good to go. And don't be nervous. I can hear your heart pounding from here." He smiled at me and gave my hair a once over. "I think you're done," he said, rolling his sleeves back down to his wrists and handing over my glasses. I could not deny that my hair certainly looked better than it had: messy but not untidy at the same time.

"You like it?" Andrew asked.

"You don't have to ask, do you?" I countered. "I've noticed how you seemed to answer questions before they're spoken. You have something to tell me?" I laughed, raising an eyebrow. A brisk knock sounded at my bedroom door.

"Another time, perhaps," Andrew said, throwing his coat over his shoulder and sauntering out the now open door. Isabel stepped to one side to let him through and stood awkwardly in the doorway.

"Um…" I muttered, unsure of whether I should walk to her or she to me.

"I was thinking about you this morning," Isabel began. Her fingers twisted together awkwardly. The breath I had been holding in was released when I saw that she was as nervous as I was. "And Charlotte was already coming over. I thought that maybe we should talk about what happened with…you know…" she mumbled, twirling an auburn lock around her finger.

"What you are?" I prompted. She nodded. "You heard Andrew talking to me?" Again, she nodded. "You want to talk here?" This time her eyes grew wide and she shook her head fervently.

"Oh, no! You must understand…what I am is very sensitive information," she said. I nodded. I guess they all weren't as comfortable with what they were as Andrew was.

"How about at the Italian place down the street? No one is ever there at this time and, if you'll forgive me, I'm famished." I chuckled under my breath. A small smile spread across her lips. "A human weakness, I know." I laughed, making sure not to over-emphasize the word _human_. The last thing I wanted was to offend her. She laughed with me and nodded.

"I don't see why not. If you are sure we will not be disturbed?" She posed it as a question, a challenge. I nodded. Signor Amoretti would never dare lose a customer at any expense. I walked towards her and offered my arm, smiling what I hoped was a cheeky grin. She rolled her eyes, amused, and took my hand. The cold softness of her skin made me flinch, but I squeezed her hand when she tried to draw back. Her grip relaxed and she all but dragged me up the stairs to the hallway. All the while, Andrew was working his charm on my mother.

"I must ask Ms. Masen, what is that tantalizing aroma?" he asked, grinning. She giggled.

"Oh, it's only soup. You're welcome to it, if you wish. You and Miss. Brewster." She smiled. He nodded and faked reaching a hand across her back and pointed to the cracked open front door.

"I'm sorry but we're going to have to go in a bit. I think we've stressed out Edward enough for one day," he laughed. "By the way, he said he was going back to sleep. Those pain meds just knock him out, you know?" Andrew said. I smiled and gave him a thumbs-up before speeding out the door and into the mist. We couldn't take my car in case my mother noticed it had gone. Isabel seemed to know where to go without my directions and I followed her willingly.

We did not speak as we walked down the street, I content to just hold her hand; I could only assume she felt the same.

Signor Amoretti's little dive of a restaurant was one of the only good things about Forks: it was small, private and smoky. It looked like something out of _The Godfather_ with all its little booths and Italian dishes. The food was amazing, mostly because Signora Amoretti didn't measure anything when she cooked; she claimed she was old enough to eyeball everything. Everything was still steaming when it was brought to your table. To me, it was my little slice of heaven amid all the damp and green.

"You don't mind if I eat, do you?" I asked as we walked into the restaurant. The only other people inside were two old men playing chess in a corner booth.

"No, that's fine," she said, letting go of my hand. I frowned at the loss, but didn't try to pull her back. I slithered into the farthest seat from the old men, a dusty little booth by the kitchen. Isabel sat down with grace, crossing one leg over the other underneath the table. The side of her ankle brushed my calf, but I tried not to react. No doubt she could hear the jump in my heartbeat anyway.

No sooner had I opened my mouth to talk before a bowl of steaming fettuccini alfredo was set down in front of me.

"You are too skinny, my boy. No girl will want a boy with no substance," Signora Amoretti teased, handing me a fork and knife. "Eat up."

Signora was a mountain of a woman, like her husband. Her large stomach and bust were highlighted by her deep red, and very stained, apron. Her light hair was whipped up into a bun and she wore a blue dress. Sweat dripped from her brow. She cast a wayward glance at Isabel, her eyes trailing up and down her slender body. I would be lying if I said I hadn't noticed she was so thin either, but it was never with such a critical air. Quite the opposite, actually.

"I won't have anything, thank you," Isabel said.

"Nonsense," Signora barked. "I'll go get you another plate and some water." She bustled off into the kitchen and I made sure she was out of ear shot before laughing.

"She does that." I chuckled. "But she means well. It's not like she knows." I sighed and bit into a large forkful of noodles. "Damn, that's hot!" I cursed, dropping my fork with a clang. Isabel giggled and I felt a hot blush start to crawl up my face.

"One does miss food, but not the dangers that come with it." She laughed breathily. Her teeth, delicate-looking and pearly, scraped her bottom lip before she brushed her fingertips across the back of my hand. "You needn't be so nervous, Edward," she said. "I want this opportunity…more than you know." Her fingers were cold and gentle, brushing back and forth from my wrist to my fingertips. The chill sent tingles from my wrist to my shoulder, though I was determined not to let her see my shiver.

"How does that feel to you?" I asked as calmly as I could manage, taking another bite of the cooling pasta with my free hand.

"Initially, what that pasta felt like a few moments ago: burning hot," she murmured thickly. "But now that I'm more used to it, it just feels warm. Like when you snuggle up under a blanket on a cold day. Though I imagine you don't know what that feels like, growing up in Arizona and all that. Andrew told me about how you always wanted to see the snow, but your father wouldn't let you go." I raised an eyebrow. I was certain I had never told Andrew that. When would it even have come up in conversation? Isabel must have seen my confusion, and continued. "He's very…unique, even amongst our kind." I asked no more and went back to eating. Signora tromped back with another plate of pasta and two glasses of water.

"I could hear you yell from the back of the kitchen. Take better care than him, my girl." She smiled at Isabel. Isabel returned the gesture, but her smile faltered when Signora didn't appear to want to leave. "Well, go on. Try it," she insisted. Isabel's face fell, but she grabbed her fork, twirled some pasta onto it and took a large bite. It wasn't until this point that I realized I had stopped eating. I didn't think Signora had caught a momentary grimace on Isabel's face because she soon bustled away.

No sooner than she had disappeared did Isabel's face turn a very unsettling shade of green and she swallowed hard.

"If you see me run for the bathroom, don't follow me," she said, pushing the plate away. "You can have that. It tastes like dirt to me."

"No," I muttered, looking down at the slosh of pasta and sauce. Two minutes ago it had been a steaming bowl of delicious Italian cooking but now…after I had seen what the food had done to Isabel…

_Alright, back up. That's just freaking weird. _My subconscious barked at me in the middle of my thought. _Who the hell is this girl to just make you into some puppet? _The thought, which had been lurking in the back of my mind since yesterday, was not a pleasant one. Sure, Isabel was nice and sweet and a totally different species than me, but was that any different than most girls? Most girls were nice and sweet and _acted_ like a different species. Was that a reason to cast her off or to just like her even more? At least Isabel had an excuse.

"Edward, are you alright?" Isabel's voice cut through my internal soliloquy. "You look like you're going to be sick too," she laughed.

I nodded and shook my head at the same time. "I'm just…confused. I like you more than I should." Once I had opened my mouth there was no stopping my word vomit. "It's like…you're always _there_,in my head, and I can't help it because I like it so much. Not a moment goes by that I don't think of you or find a way to think of you. But it's like I know I shouldn't think that way about you. I know it's wrong but…it doesn't _matter_," I sighed, exasperated. Nothing I was saying was making an ounce of sense. Isabel frowned and reached across the table to give my hand a squeeze.

"I know it isn't going to help you any, but I feel the same. Andrew is much older than me and has much more…control over his urges. I don't have that luxury," she said, her voice holding just the slightest bit of contempt, whether for Andrew or herself I was unsure. To my surprise, she didn't retract her hand. She left it there, draped over my own, her thumb rubbing against mine. I tried not to squirm under the coolness of her touch and went back to eating a little at a time with my free hand. The heat and taste was almost gone, but I had to focus on something other than staring into her eyes. "Don't judge my kind based on your interactions with him. He is a rare creature, one I would even dare to call civilized." She shrugged and looked down. "I don't pretend that I'm even close to being his equal."

"Well…you haven't killed me yet," I offered. A sound akin to a snort reverberated in the back of her throat and she openly rolled her eyes.

"Is that your logic, Edward? You know I'm perfectly capable of killing you. The fact that I simply haven't means next to nothing." I felt her cross her legs under the table and she retracted her hand, much to my chagrin. "I'm sorry, that was harsh of me, but it's true nonetheless. I would say 'You should stay away from me', but what good would it do either of us? We're attached now, aren't we? Trying to stay away would only make things worse, wouldn't it?" I blinked , not comprehending what she was getting at.

"I don't understand."

Isabel acted like she hadn't heard me and smiled when Signora placed a check under her water glass.

"Well, I must be off. My phone's been vibrating at regular intervals for the past few minutes. I'm sure it's Jasper wanting me home," she sighed and got up. "You brought money with you, didn't you?" she asked.

"Enough, why?" I asked, my mind still in a daze. Isabel's cold features softened for a moment and she leaned down to press her lips to my cheek.

"A gentleman always pays on the first date."

She walked out onto the street, turned, smiled and walked on without another word, leaving me with empty pockets and a very frazzled mind.


End file.
